The sport’s new sound has been one of the biggest talking points so far this season, with many fans criticising the change as well as F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

“The principal reason why the engine is quieter is the turbine wheel and the muffling effect that you get from that,” explained Andy Cowell, managing director at Mercedes-Benz HPP, during Friday’s FIA press conference at the Shanghai International Circuit.

“That’s one of the key technologies for recycling the waste energy that would normally go down the tailpipe so it’s a key aspect of the technology that we’ve got. There are other things we can do though with the tailpipe, perhaps, to change the noise.”

White, Renault’s deputy managing director, has warned that there is very little opportunity with the current power-units to increase the volume.

“The noise of the current engine is a consequence of the overall layout, the architecture and so forth,” he said. “I think in terms of the possible adjustments to change the noise it makes, I think we’re at the beginning of a consultative process that will kick off in about an hour’s time.

“Andy’s alluded to tail pipe changes – that’s something that could be a way to go. I think the scope to fundamentally and profoundly alter the noise of the engines is extremely limited by the type of technology that we have deployed and therefore I think we need to be realistic about the scope of any action that we might take but of course we’re sensitive to the subject and we’ll certainly participate in any of the studies that might lead to actions being taken.”

Image courtesy of Caterham F1 Team

Jack Leslie

Jack Leslie is a freelance motorsport and Formula 1 journalist. He has been part of the Richland F1 team since the very start and made his F1 paddock debut for the website at the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix. Jack also writes for Car Throttle, RumbleStripNews, Formula1Blog, PureF1 and F1 Plus, as well as running a popular blog.